With so many projects on the go, I thought I would leave the ’59 Roma in the shipping box until the winter.  Well for those of you that are in to this ‘old bike’ thing, you say this to yourself wishfully knowing that the bike will be out of the box and on the stand before the sun sets.  And so it goes.

Given the nice condition of this Roma the project is more of what I would call a “clean up” than a restoration with the exception of the Brooks Campagnolo saddle that had all but fallen off the bike and is now with skilled hands of Tony Colgrave in the UK to get a new top fitted.

Having fully dismantled the bike in the previous post “1959 Roma Olimpiade Arrives”, I throughly washed the frame and rubbed out the rough bit with some mild compound and then passed it on to Noah Rosen at Velocolour for a light clear coat.

I am sure there are a few screaming from the bleachers however I do find the clear coat helps to extend the ‘original’ finish of the bike for many years to come with minimal intrusion.  50 plus years on, decals are starting to dry and flake, thinned paint is exposing the bare frame to possible corrosion and the clearcoat helps to preserve rather than alter what is or has been.

The rest of the work is restricted to disassembling all of the components to their base, a bit of gentle work with a fine brass brush, degreaser, some polishing compound and lots of elbow grease as the term goes and of course repacking bearings.  One or two damaged nuts or bolts replaced with a period-correct part.  And the odd thread ‘chased’ if it seemed a little out of sorts.  However overall the bike was very well serviced or looked after or both.

So here is a few pics of how the “clean up” has come along, in no particular order which is how it all went along to be truthful.

The Universal brake hoods are replacements sourced out of Italy that the supplier attests are made from the original moulds.  Having seen some Campagnolo ‘reworks’, these are convincing given the parting lines and depth of the logo detail which is difficult to achieve as copies.

A bit of light pitting on the Gran Sport headset but no wrench damage and one of the finer examples that I have seen, which are few and far between as most of you know.  And the Campagnolo engraved spacer has not been lost over the years.